3 teens arrested for assault after girl’s suicide SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Eight days after allegedly being sexually battered while passed out at a party, and then humiliated by online photos of the assault, 15-year-old Audrie Pott posted on Facebook that her life was ruined, “worst day ever,” and hanged herself. For the next eight months, her family struggled to figure out what happened to their soccer loving, artistic, horse crazy daughter, whose gentle smile, long dark hair and shining eyes...

Gun control bill clears its first hurdle in Senate WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress’ most serious gun-control effort in years cleared its first hurdle Thursday as the Senate pushed past conservatives’ attempted blockade under the teary gaze of families of victims of December’s Connecticut school shootings. The bipartisan 68-31 vote rebuffed an effort to keep debate from even starting, giving an early victory — and perhaps political momentum — to President Barack Obama and his gun control allies. Fou...

Grandparents: Florida boys unaware of kidnapping TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Two young boys seem unaware their parents kidnapped them and believe their sailboat trip to Cuba was only a vacation, not an attempt by their mom and dad to flee U.S. authorities, the children’s grandparents said Thursday. Patricia and Bob Hauser said they want to get the boys back to a normal schedule and “just be carefree little boys again.” The grandparents were awarded custody of the young boys before their parents kidna...

Financial crises for Georgia man who held firefighters SUWANEE, Ga. (AP) — A gunman who lured firefighters to his Georgia home with an emergency call, then held four of them hostage for hours before being shot to death faced a series of personal and financial calamities before he lashed out violently at the rescue crew. Lauren Brown’s life apparently reached a crisis this spring. With his power, cable and other utilities cut off because of nonpayment, the 55-year-old had a half-dozen guns in his h...

Despite solitude, hermit had taste for fine things ROME, Maine (AP) — He would meditate on an overturned bucket while staring up at the sky and knew all the eagles that nested nearby. But despite his 27 years of seclusion in the woods, Christopher Knight also had a taste for the finer things in life, authorities said Thursday after dismantling the so-called North Pond hermit’s lair. In the 47-year-old’s camp, they recovered goods that included high-end L.L. Bean sleeping bags and a new tent. H...

Bullet hits Philadelphia shop worker’s belt buckle PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A grocery store employee said Thursday that he is thanking God and his belt buckle for saving him from a stray bullet that smashed through the market’s front door. The bullet lodged in the metal buckle worn by Bienvenido Reynoso, who had only recently started his job at 8 Brothers Supermarket in Philadelphia. “It saved my life,” Reynoso said of the belt. “I keep it for (my) whole life now.” Reynoso, 38, said he was about to...

Felon arrested after dispute involving pistolAn Oklahoma man was arrested Monday night by Russellville police after a reported disturbance involving a handgun near State Highway 7 and Birch Street. Joshua Ketcherside appeared at felony bond hearings on Wednesday at the Pope County Detention Center. District Judge Don Bourne set his bond at $30,000 for alleged felony possession of a handgun and terroristic threatening. Ketcherside is required to appear in Pope County Circuit Court on May ...

Police link robbery to victim’s jail bailA married couple allegedly broke into a Russellville resident’s home Monday and stole items, including a 55-inch television, to raise bail money to pay a bail bond to get a friend out of jail. The house the couple broke into was the residence of the friend who is in jail, according to reports. Charles Hall, 46, and Dana Hall, 47, were arrested Monday and transported to the Pope County Detention Center. The couple appeared at felony bond hearin...

Bond Hearings (April 11, 2013)The following people appeared during felony bond hearings Wednesday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, the following people will appear May 20 in Pope County District Court. • Steven Porter, 21, domestic battery and terroristic threatening — $7,500. A Pope County Sheriff’s investigator said Porter allegedly used a .22-caliber pistol to threaten a woman who compla...

Boost for background checks: Senators compromise WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative senators from both parties announced their support for expanding background checks for gun buyers Wednesday, giving a burst of momentum to advocates of stronger restrictions. But big questions remain about whether President Barack Obama can push significant gun controls through Congress. The compromise between Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., boosted the chances that the Senate will agree to...

Sheriff: Knife attack at Texas college was random CYPRESS, Texas (AP) — A man accused of stabbing more than a dozen people at a suburban Houston community college chose his victims at random, authorities said Wednesday, going from one floor to another as he used a razor utility knife to slice people in the neck and face. Neighbors and the grandmother of Dylan Quick were at a loss to explain the attack on the Lone Star Community College campus in Cypress — an attack that authorities say the 20...

Maine hermit living in wild for 27 years arrested ROME, Maine (AP) — A man who lived like a hermit for decades in a makeshift camp in the woods and may be responsible for more than 1,000 burglaries for food and other staples has been caught in a surveillance trap at a camp he treated as a “Walmart,” authorities said Wednesday. Christopher Knight, 47, was arrested last week when he tripped a surveillance sensor set up by a game warden while stealing food from a camp for people with special nee...

Bin Laden raid member can be WikiLeaks witness FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — A military judge cleared the way Wednesday for a member of the team that raided Osama bin Laden’s compound to testify at the trial of an Army private charged in a massive leak of U.S. secrets to the WikiLeaks website. Col. Denise Lind ruled for the prosecution during a court-martial pretrial hearing for Pfc. Bradley Manning at Fort Meade, near Baltimore. Prosecutors say the witness, presumably a Navy SEAL, collected digi...

Amish gather before prison terms BERGHOLZ, Ohio (AP) — Bare feet and work boots shuffle on the wooden floor of the Amish schoolhouse as the children settle into tight rows of scuffed metal desks across the room from their parents — the men on one set of benches, women on another, some cradling younger children. They have gathered to celebrate the end of school, but no one claps or cheers. The only voices raised are those of the students as they begin singing, the melodies ris...

Gunman holding firefighters killed; 4 hostages OK SUWANEE, Ga. (AP) — An armed man who was having financial problems held four firefighters for hours in a suburban Atlanta home, demanding his cable and power be turned back on, before being shot dead when SWAT members stormed the house, authorities said Wednesday. The hostages had cuts and bruises from explosions that officers set off to distract the gunman before moving in, but they will be fine, a fire official said. Minutes before the polic...

Student charged in Texas college stabbing attack CYPRESS, Texas (AP) — A 20-year-old student went on a building-to-building stabbing attack at a Texas community college Tuesday, wounding at least 14 people — many in the face and neck — before being subdued and arrested, authorities said Tuesday. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that Dylan Quick had been planning the attack at the Lone Star College System’s campus in Cypress for some time and had fantasies of stabbing pe...

Russellville man accused of shooting at policeA Russellville man was arrested Sunday morning on the charges of terroristic threatening, attempted burglary, and aggravated assault after allegedly shooting at police officers and breaking into a house. Basil Sanford, 22, was given a $75,000 bond Monday morning in a contentious bond hearing, where Sanford denied most of the allegations made against him. A woman called Russellville police early Sunday morning saying she received a phone call f...

Bond Hearings (April 9, 2013)The following people appeared during felony bond hearings Monday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges, and bond amounts are listed. If charged, the following people will appear May 6 in Pope County District Court. • Doug Chisum, 47, first-degree battery — $7,500. Police responded to a call on Friday afternoon from a man claiming to have been shot in the leg. Chisum called shortly after, saying that he bel...

Ex-teacher to stand trial on student-sex charges BENTON, Ark. (AP) - A former Bryant High School teacher suspected of having sex with a 17-year-old student has been ordered to stand trial. Thirty-one-year-old Courtney Speer was ordered Monday by Saline County Circuit Court Judge Gary Arnold to stand trial on six counts of second-degree sexual assault. Arnold scheduled the trial for Aug. 7-8. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/10LoP1p ) that Speer did not speak during the he...